Last dance takeaways from episodes 5&6 • KOBE IDOLIZATION OF MJ: It was great to hear what Kobe had to say about MJ, about how he was his mentor and “I wouldn’t win five championships without him”, as well as “Everything you see from me is from him” We also saw MJ day “Kobe was like a little brother to me”, and how he knew Kobe was even before he did, saying in 1998, “He doesn’t let the game come to him, he goes out there and takes it”. I knew Kobe was friends with MJ, but not that close. That took me by surprise. •MJ WAS THE ULTIMATE KNICKS KILLER: Micheal torched the Knicks in the 90’s nearly every chance he got with the playoffs being no exception, as he went 5 for 5 against them, including two dramatic game 7 victories, and an historic 2-0 series comeback in the 1993 ECF. But perhaps the best MJ moment against the Knicks was in 1995, when just 2 weeks out from coming out of retirement , he dropped 55 points on them in MSG, on the way to a 104-103 Bulls victory. As for the fans and players who want to blame Ewing for the Knicks losses, i just think it was MJ being MJ, because in without him in 1994, the Bulls were swept out of the postseason by none other than the Knicks. One more thing, MJ almost went to the Knicks in the 1996 offseason in the midst of the Bulls second three-peat but he didn’t due to the “Larry Bird exception rule”, that stated you can re-sign a player for ANY amount of money with the salary cap being irrelevant and that’s what happened, as the Knicks were defeated my MJ and the Bulls yet again. On the bright side though, it is widely-know that Mike’s favorite arena to play in was MSG, so that’s something Knicks fans might just be able to take pride in, as they got to see MJ at his absolute best whether you like it or not. THE SHOE DEAL: •Jordan’s were and are still at the top or at very least near that point, when it comes to the most popular sneakers in America today. Everyone really and some still do want to “Be like Mike” We saw in the documentary a story where MJ talked about his final game at MSG as a Bull. Wearing his first-ever “Jordan’s” and his last in 1998, MJ dropped 42 points in a Bulls win with his feet paying the price, as he realized he had “Bloddy Socks” after taking the sneakers off. The competitiveness was on full-display that night. •SPORTSMANSHIP: It was great to see Isaiah Thomas, MJ, Kobe and Magic Johnson, talk about how through all of the competition, they still respect the other persons game. •DREAM TEAM: Nice of the guys behind the documentary to include the 1992 USA “Dream Team” in this. What a powerhouse that Olympic team was, with Larry Bird, Magic, MJ, Clyde Drexler, Among many others on that team. They are still regarded today as the greatest basketball team of all time.
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